90 XJ .. front axle shaft & hub .. can you drive without axle shaft? 2 hubs wrecked

[dogkatcher]

1990 xj laredo 4x4, 4.0l ... 157k ... vacuum engage front drive .. axle shaft u joint got loose, noisy


so ... someone told me I could drive without axle shaft (passenger side), just in case the axle shaft I bought didnt fit, then I could drive & match the part after I pull it out (free swap). made sense unless I needed 4 wheel drive


just so happens, the axle shaft bought has different spline pattern. so put old hub back on, drove around yesterday (-axle shaft), things got noisy

this AM .. found the hub assy is very loose. I figured I messed up the old one using the hub puller on it


bought a new hub assy, installed it very carefully (-axle shaft) .. drove around block a few times to let brakes settle in, turns out new hub is loose now too, very wobbly


I guess the axle shaft needs to be in there? really doubt a brand new hub would go bad


thoughts? thanks

[dogkatcher]

so .. I received an answer on a cherokee forum.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/1990...9/#post1799374

MY PERSONAL NOTES 1ST .. I wouldnt even write all of this, but the wheel hub coulda exploded on highway yesterday .. not cool

For everyone out there .. dont listen to guys at used parts places that dont put their best foot forward .. the guy left me alone to go thru a shelf of used axle parts, he didnt care about me at all .. after him saying "do you have the old one? to match it up" .. I asked about driving without it, to bring it in to match it .. he says "yea you can drive without it" .. not so .. according to cherokee forum .. a no brainer what axle it is, Dana 30 .. and NO you cant drive without .. this used place is a jeep specific place .. makes me wonder .. hopin they honor the free swap since no match .. if not, ouch (I dont wanna go there yet, im in a good mood)

thanks to this man !! jeeps runnin safe .. hindsight says I shoulda started that thread sooner

just need to swap the mis-bought part .. learned alot .. especially removing / re-installing parts up there .. cleaned up 22 year bolts, they look almost new ... 3rd round it was a breeze .. so the 4th time: installing the correct axle shaft will be easy (knock on wood)

to boot got 2 bike rides to parts place today, quite a memorial day workout .. the rides relieved some stress too, great cool colorado weather

Big Thanks to Nor-CalJeeper via cherokeeforum.com

his quote:

on the xj the ONLY safe way to drive the d30 with out in axle in place is to remove the ujoint from the axle and reinstall the axle stub through the hub unit and retorque the nut. driving around like that means that the unit bearing was the only thing holding your wheel on which it isn't made for and is very very dangerous.

You were lucky it didnt break but I am sure the unit bearing is probably no good now.

[fredjacksonsan]

Hey dogkatcher, thanks for posting up the answer.